One Fateful Afternoon
by Inudaughter Returns
Summary: Lorenzo, the richest student in Arnold's class, is hosting a birthday party at his mansion. Harold invites Patty, Lorenzo worries about making this the best birthday ever, and Olga self-invites herself as Helga's co-guest when she finds out it's a pool party. Nothing goes smoothly as planned for anyone on one fateful afternoon.
1. Chapter 1

**I received a request for a fanfic featuring a pool party a long time ago from The J.A.M. a.k.a. Numbuh i. This would be it. This story is the second to last in the Olga Story Arc. It ties up loose ends and is full of pure romantic gobbly-gook for the masses. ArnoldxHelga fans have a bit of a treat, but so do fans of HaroldxPatty. It will be multiple chapters, largely because it features so many characters having their own miniature conflicts. Please enjoy.**

It was an easy, observable conclusion that Lorenzo was by far the richest kid to attend Public School Number 118. No other child there had his own limo to shuttle him between appointments. No other children had a mansion to go home to either, and in this Lorenzo was both unique and envied- at least by most.

Arnold Shortman was largely comfortable with his own life. So it was that when the introverted Lorenzo called him up on the phone to ask for his help typing up invitations, it wasn't a big deal to meet up with the boy after school to go to his house. It was just another do-gooder mission. Little did Arnold realize that by its finish, this particular social event would leave a lasting impact on his own life.

"Wow, Lorenzo!" said Arnold observing a round bubblegum dispenser as tall as a grandfather clock at Lorenzo's house. "That's really neat! Where did you get that?"

"Oh, that was a present from my grandparents. They sent it to me when I got a cold instead of a get-well basket. That sort of thing. I've been meaning to get rid of it! Would you like a piece?"

"Maybe just one" said Arnold popping out one of the round gumballs from the dispenser, chewing it up, then blowing the chewing gum. The fruit-flavored chewing gum made a satisfying pop and Arnold tucked it against his teeth again. Then Arnold pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and looked at it.

"Okay! Well, I know the addresses of most of the kids in our class already. I wrote down the ones I know. But there are a few I've missed. We can look them up in the phonebook," Arnold rationalized. "Or we can even just hand out the invitations in class. That's kind of the norm."

"Hm. Well, I never really thought of that!" said Lorenzo puckering his face to look particularly thoughtful. "But since I've already got the correct postage to cover all the stationery, we might as well send all the invitations by mail."

"Well, okay," said Arnold a little uncomfortable. "I just think that inviting people in person adds, you know, a little personal touch."

"A personal touch?" said Lorenzo tapping a finger against his chin as he thought. "You make a good point, Arnold! I should talk to the caterers about doing something, like individualized napkins or something." Arnold's eyes widened slightly.

"Well, I don't really get it, but it's your birthday party, Lorenzo. You should do whatever you want. Do you mind my asking what you've got planned so far?" Arnold picked up a single page from a broad pile of notes next to to a drawing easel. On the easel was an ambitious landscape drawing of the party to be. For a children's birthday party, Lorenzo was taking the event ridiculously seriously. He might as well have been doing work for an engineering firm by the looks of his drafting board.

"Well, what I envision so far," said Lorenzo flipping through a series of architectural sketches of his home. "Is a 10:30 garden reception by the pool. Then we'll break for brief luncheon at 11:30, then enjoy cake at about noon, with the traditional candle-blowing ceremony of course! At 12:30 I'll receive presents from my parents and hopefully," said Lorenzo growing wistful now, "some of the other kids will bring me presents, too." Arnold lay a supportive hand against Lorenzo's shoulder and smiled.

"Don't worry! I'm sure the other kids from school won't let you down! They won't be flashy presents like ones your parents can give you, but I'm sure they'll think to bring you something."

"Yeah," said the boy who clearly craved for acceptance among his peers. Arnold picked up one of the few invitations Lorenzo had finished. He read it out loud.

"Hm. You and one guest of your choosing are cordially invited to the Birthday Party of…" Arnold set down the note without finishing the reading of it. He had a question instead.

"So people not just from our class are going to be there?"

"Well, half the people invited will be. But you may ask another friend from elsewhere if you like, Arnold. Is there someone you want to take with you, Arnold?"

"No," said Arnold mildly. "Not especially. All my friends will already be there. Let's finish up these invitations! I still have some math homework to do," said Arnold stuffing an invitation inside an envelope and licking the envelope to close it. Then he repeated the action again.

Shortly, the invitations Arnold and Lorenzo worked on were finished. Inside Lorenzo's house, they were handed off to a butler, then dropped into the home's fancy postbox. These envelopes were picked up by a sputtering white mail truck. Soon, these invitations poured into mailboxes all over Hillwood. Many lips split wide with grins of joy as children like Nadine, Sheena, and Gerald received theirs. The clumsy Eugene even fell over his own feet in excitement when he opened his. Sid and Stinky stared at theirs in blank wonderment, while Curly frowned a thoughtful little grimace.

In no time at all, at least one of the fancy paper envelopes made it into the mailbag of Harvey, Hillwood's favorite postman. Humming, Harvey carried one particular invitation to the home of Harold Berman and dropped it in the mailslot. Humming happily, the postman walked away, his duty complete. The envelope found its way into the hand of Harold's mother as she scooped up the day's mail for its sorting. She gasped with delight and surprise when she spotted the invitation for her son Harold. An overzealous mother, she opened it to read the invitation.

"Harold! My growing boy! This is so exciting!" The woman in a nightgown-like dress trotted over to her son's door and knocked on it with her meaty fist.

"What?" was Harold's declaration as he peered round the door, his blue hat pulled low and his mouth pouting so that his one oversized tooth especially showed. Harold's eyes bulged when he saw the huge envelope in his smiling mother's hand.

"What is it, Ma?" Harold said amending gently. Harold's mother passed the envelope into her boy's hand, then squished him up in a hug immediately.

"Ah, too tight! Too tight, Ma!" squeaked out Harold before his overzealous mother let go to pat him on his ballcap covered head. Harold reexamined the envelope.

"Ah, my dear, sweet, adorable boy!" Mrs. Berman exclaimed. "I am just so glad you are making friends! Another party invitation! I'll have to iron your dress pants for you. Maybe you can invite your friend Patty to go with you!" said Mrs. Berman pinching Harold's chubby cheek. As soon as his mother had let go, Harold tried to rub the ache away.

"Mooooom!" complained Harold. "I am not inviting Patty! That'd be like a date!"

"Aw, my precious boy!" said Mrs. Berman repinching Harold's cheeks and clearly not listening. "You remind me of your father. He was always so handsome. So well dressed for every event. Try to keep your shirt tucked in Harold."

"Mom," said Harold, frowning and scowling. "Aren't you listening? I don't wanna make a big deal out of it! It'd embarrass me in front of the guys!"

"Nonsense!" said Mrs. Berman slapping Harold on the shoulder so that he wobbled on his feet before righting himself. "We'll have to order a corsage for your friend Patty from Vitello's," said Mrs. Berman picking up the phone and dialing up the flower shop. Harold stared in dismay as his mother began to prepare for this party with as much zeal as if it were for his senior prom.

Come dinner time, Harold was so unnerved by the turn of events that he rapped the side of his fork against his plate edge instead of eating his mashed potatoes- at least for a minute. Then the temptation was too strong and Harold shoveled a whole mess of white, fluffy potatoes into his pallet to slurp them down much as one would fruit punch. Harold's father leaned across the table.

"So, son!" His father praised. "My mother tells me that you will be taking a special girl with you to a fancy party! I'm so proud of you, son."

"It's just a stupid birthday party!" Harold grumbled. His eyes bulged as his mother set an enormous wrapped present on the other side of the dinner table.

"Yes, well, I've bought this for you to give to your kind host, Harold," said his mother wearing a dreamy smile. Harold stared at the glittering, silver wrapped paper.

"Hey!" he protested. Harold jabbed his fork in the direction of the wrapped birthday present. "That looks like a better present than I got for my own birthday!"

"Yeah. Um hum. Well, try to make extra good friends with your classmate, Harold," said his mother pinching his cheek painfully again. "There's a time and place for a little brown-nosing!"

"Ah, man!" Harold complained loudly feeling very cross.

Harold's social life was being hijacked by his parents, but it wasn't about to get better anytime soon. The next day, his mother called him up at school's front office to pester him about inviting Patty Smith to the fancy party. As soon as he sat down to lunch, Harold found handwritten notes from his mother stuffed into his brown paper lunch bag.

"What's that, Harold?" asked Patty Smith who was sitting across the table from Harold eating a peanut butter sandwich. Harold tossed the scrap of paper he had been reading away to hide it.

"Oh! Well, it's nothing, Patty!" said Harold quickly. Then the boy grew sentimental and serious. He was giving in. After all, Harold did like Patty Smith after all.

"Patty?" asked Harold so gently and sweet that Patty Smith stopped chewing her sandwich to look up at him blankly. "There's something I'd like to ask you. There's a party, right. A birthday party for one of the kids in my class and well, I'd really like it if you'd come to the birthday party with me."

"Am I allowed to do that?" asked Patty Smith in all seriousness. "It is another kid's birthday party. Doesn't he decide on the guests?"

"Oh, well, he said that I can bring one other person with me. It's Lorenzo's party. It's going to be fancy. With lots of cake I bet. And music. And maybe even a petting zoo. I hope."

"Well, it sounds like it might be fun," said Patty. "Sure, I'll go with you."

"Thanks," said Harold taking a bite out of his sandwich. "I want you to come! Plus my parents might leave me alone now," said Harold feeling sorry for himself. He and Patty resumed their eating before something suddenly occurred to the boy with the blue vest, blue shorts, and blue ball-cap but most especially, the need for dental work.

"Oh, Patty! There's one more thing! There's going to be some swimming at the party, too, so you should bring a swimsuit with you. You know, so you can swim."

"A swimsuit?!" Patty asked. She frowned across the table.

"Do you know how to swim, Patty?" asked Harold. The boy pointed to himself. "I'm good at swimming! Really, really good! My friends and I won a swimming competition once!"

"Er, yeah," Patty answered hesitantly. "I'd like to hear about it, Harold," said Patty politely before Harold began his long and winded boast about himself.

But Patty hardly heard the story that Harold told about himself being a great swimmer. She was too worried about something instead and when Patty Smith clicked on the light to her room when she got home and opened the slotted closet door it became apparent what that thing was. Patty searched her closet until she found a very plain, brown bathing suit many sizes too small. Yes, Patty Smith definitely had a problem.

The natural thing to do was to go over to Budnicks and the boulevard of department stores surrounding it. So Patty took a little clutch purse with a bit of money in it and did exactly that. She strode into a shop selling swimsuits and stomped between the dainty ceramic manikins with their saucy, slender poses. A retail clerk hurried her way.

"Excuse me, madam, can I help you?" asked the clerk.

"Yeah. I'm looking for a swim suit," said the bulky, over-sized girl.

For you?!" the clerk said pointing for a mere moment. He sighed. "Very well, madame. Right this way!"

But one thing was as evident as the moon in the night sky. Patty Smith was not meant for a bikini. Her masculine, athletic bulk looked all wrong in the few bathing suits the store did have to offer in her size and they all were eccentric bathing suits, too! One had red pom poms. One was a bunch of ugly diagonal stripes. The last one was canary yellow with blue shoulders and a skirt to look like leaves of a palm tree. Patty Smith set all the articles she had tried on aside.

"So, Madame!" said the storekeeper. "Have you made a selection?"

"Well," said Patty looking unhappy in a calm and quiet sort of way as opposed to someone like Helga, who complained with lots of drama. "Thanks anyway. But I don't think any of these suits are for me."

"That is apparent," the store clerk rudely muttered as Patty Smith walked out the shop door. The girl's frown was deeper than ever.

At school the next day, Rhonda Lloyd was brushing her hair in front of her locker mirror when a very unexpected figure became reflected in it. Rhonda turned around and gaped in surprise at her visitor.

"Patty!" said the girl who had miraculously formed a friendship with Patty Smith during the time the two girls had gone to a sophisticate academy together. "What a... pleasant surprise! What are you doing here?"

"Hey Rhonda," said Patty with the mild voice she always used except when brawling to prove she was the roughest, toughest girl around. "I've got sort of... a problem. Since you know fashion, I thought you could help me out."

"Fashion?!" Rhonda declared, elated by the mere name of the 'religion' she held most dear to her preteen heart. Rhonda Lloyd placed her fingertips on her chest and blinked in delight. "Why, Patty! Of course you've come to the right place!"


	2. Chapter 2

**A short installment. There was some confusion so I need to explain it here. Rex Smythe-Higgins III more often than not called "Junior" by his grandfather with the same name. This character appears as Arnold's rival in the sailboat race and helps Arnold get his pet pig, Abner back, at the end of "Pig War". Rex is spoken to by name two more times in the series, once by Rhonda during "Cool Party" when he is a guest at her boring party. The second time is by the instructor in the episode "Polishing Rhonda". Rex has brought his pet terrier Pepe in for show and tell, basically, and the instructor thanks him. I'm glad you asked.**

If Rhonda Lloyd had one great, true love of her life it was clothes. Yes, definitely clothes. It was one thing to be able to choose clothes for oneself. It was a whole new level of excitement to be granted to opportunity to choose the clothes to dress someone else in, so when Patty Smith asked her for help finding a new bathing suit… well, carried away was a modest description of Rhonda's sudden frame of mind.

Patty Smith stepped outside the front doors of P.S. 118, wholly unsuspecting when a limousine rolled up before the steps. The windows rolled down and like all the other students, Patty Smith squinted and stared. Her eyes bugged out when who she spied in the cab's interior was none other than Rhonda Lloyd, flexing a finger to invite Patty her way. Beside her on the seat was a boy dressed in a little blue school uniform and his scottish terrier. The terrier leaned against the window, wagged its little tail, then barked.

"Pepe!" the boy in the blue dress suit said pulling the dog from the window. "You'll scare her!" Rhonda held out the palm of her hand towards her companion for the day.

"Rex Smythe-Higgins III and Pepe!" said Rhonda Lloyd smiling. "My date for this little soiree! We've come to take you shopping with us to prepare properly."

"I guess," Patty Smith uttered softly. Carrying her schoolbooks with her, she walked toward the vehicle. "I need to tell my mom first."

"Traditionalist!" said Rhonda rolling up her eyes. She flicked out a cellphone instead.

"Here, borrow MY new phone," said Rhonda. "It is state of the art technology."

"I've never used a cellphone before," said Patty. "Could you dial the number for me?" Patty asked politely.

"Here, done!" said Rhonda before whipping out a nail file and scraping it against the furthermost edges of her nails to smooth them. "But do try to hurry. We've a lot to do."

Soon Rhonda Lloyd made it to the mall. "I'll stay outside with Pepe," said Rex. "You may borrow my chauffeur to carry any bags you require with you," said the snotty, rich kid patting his favorite pet dog. He turned his back on the girls. Patty gave Rhonda a perplexed look.

"So, do you like him or something?" inquired Patty.

"Oh, him? No, no, no!" sang out Rhonda. "Truthfully, Rex and I can't stand each other. But we both are from well-to-do families. We both understand how important it is to maintain connections to Lorenzo's family. After all, there are only so many millionaires in Hillwood."

"So both of you are brown-nosing," said Patty, sagely.

"Pretty much!" said Rhonda rolling her eyes. "Plus I just adore parties! Come on Patty! Let's make this the event of your life!"

"I don't really want to make a big deal of it," said Patty. "I just want to not embarrass myself."

"We can do much better than that!" Rhonda promised. They had come to the first among shops and Rhonda snatched a one piece bathing suit off the rack. "Now, let's try to find something to go with those awkward shoulders of yours!" Rhonda might have been trying to help. But her words were only succeeding in making Patty feel even more uneasy if anything.

By the time Rhonda and Patty were finished, the sun was setting behind the shopping mall block. Pepe and Rex were enjoying foamy drinks at a cafe table when Rhonda and Patty strolled up.

"Waiter!" called Rex Smythe-Higgins III. "Another root beer float, this time don't skimp the foam on top!" the boy demanded as Peppi planted his nose in his own bowl placed on the ground. "Why, Rhonda!" said Rex grumpily. "Where the deux have you been all day! I've had to move between eating establishments five times!"

"Oh, you know finding the perfect fashion accessories takes a long time!" said Rhonda cheerfully. "Thank you oh so much, Rex for being a dear and taking us shopping! It looks like you and Pepe had a good time!" said Rhonda standing up on one toe and flickering one hand out in an expression of joy.

"Well, that's true enough," said Rex. "By golly, if I had known it would take this long, I would have relaxed this afternoon at the polo club."

"It was nice to see you again, Rex," said Patty Smith, who unlike her companions, remembered her manners.

"Yes, yes!" said Rex. "Brings back old memories of the Sophisticate Academy, does it not?" asked Rex. "Well! We'll have to catch up at the party."

"Sure," said Patty Smith with a soft smile as the limousine dropped her off back home. Patty walked inside her home and set her new shopping bag at the bottom of her closet. But the question remained- would she brave enough to wear what she had bought to Lorenzo's party?


	3. Chapter 3

One fine morning in Hillwood, Arnold sat on his bed, examining a large, off-white envelope covered in blue ink and stamps. Then, looking at his clock, Arnold jammed on his little shoes without bothering to untie the laces, tossed the party invitation onto his desk, then picked up his schoolbooks from beside where it landed. It was time to hustle out the door to make the schoolbus.

At P.S. 118, Rhonda Lloyd was preparing for Lorenzo's party by lecturing Nadine with a page clipped from a fashion magazine. Lila was by her locker showing Park a dress she had sewn by herself. At lunchtime, Arnold passed by Phoebe and Helga and sat down at the lunch table across from Gerald. The two boys did a friendship thumb shake in greeting. Today, it seemed most everyone at P.S.118 was in high spirits. But it was not so with Patty Smith. She listened to Phoebe and Helga boasting from a nearby table, frowning deeply.

"I decided to go with a blue bikini," said Phoebe loud enough for Patty to overhear. "My favorite color. It will complement my hair, admirably. Of course, I found some white sandals with beads like pearls to go along with it to give the outfit a sort of refinement."

"Uh-uh," said Helga slouched over with a certain crudeness as usual. "I got what's boss! The new Nancy Spumoni Athletic Swimsuit Model! It comes with a belt loop on one side and a free pin for jabbing into the eyes of sharks! Oh, don't worry, Phoebes, I won't bring that with me! The only accessory I need are some shades."

"Right," said Phoebe nibbling a crumb off her sandwich. "We could shop for some at my optometrist's office."

Soon, Patty was joined at her lonely table by Harold. The large boy grinned and Patty forced herself to smile back. "What's the matter, Patty?" asked Harold. "Do you have a tummy ache or somethin''?"

"No." Patty said simply. "Harold, suppose if I didn't have a swimsuit? Would you like me to come to the party with you then?"

"Well, yeah, I guess that's fine," said Harold flicking an olive from the top of his lunch's chilled egg-salad. "It's just too bad, I guess. You could really have fun! I've heard that Lorenzo's pool is really huge! And there's a waterslide!"

"Yeah?" said Patty, frowning at herself and the fib she had just told.

The school day passed swiftly, and Helga made her way home to the blue house she shared with her parents and older sister Olga. These days, Olga waited for Helga like a pet dog. When Helga eased open the front door and tried to dart inside without being noticed, Olga was already there to intercept her in the front hall.

"Hello, sweetie!" Olga cooed, batting her eyelids rapidly in delight. "Why don't you come into the kitchen and try some of the peanut-butter pecan rolls I just baked? They're positively scrumptious!" Olga put on large oven mitts to open the oven door. She pulled out a large baking sheet full of steaming, hot rolls.

"Meh. Alright," said Helga who become somewhat accustomed to the new norm of Olga having moved back into the household. She'd been there for the last few months trying extra hard to make sure Helga spent no time alone with boys like Arnold. Stone-eyed, Helga waited for Olga to pour out a cup of milk and set a single hot roll on a plate in front of her.

"Say, Olga?" said Helga hesitantly. "Now I don't want you to freak out or anything, but I have a birthday party to go to tomorrow so I won't be around."

"Oh my!" said Olga dunking fancy tea bag in a cup of water for herself. "Whose birthday is it?"

"A kid in my class named Lorenzo."

"Oh. So I take it you're especially good friends?" said Olga posturing with her cup of tea held high up in the air by one pinkie.

"Not really. He's just invited all of us. Is my swimsuit done in the wash? I'll need it."

"A swim suit? Whatever, for, silly?"

"There's going to be a pool at the party," said Helga.

"Oh my!" said Olga slapping a hand to the side of her head. "And you said that all of your class will be going? Including Arnold?!"

"Yeah," said Helga softly. "Now wait a minute!" she protested rapidly. "You aren't getting paranoid about Arnold being there, are you?! Criminy!"

"A pool party sounds scandalous, Helga!" said Olga sniffing as she dunked her sweet roll in her tea. "As a matter of fact, I do think it's a fantastic idea for me to come along as a chaperone."

"Olga," said Helga narrowing her eyes. "I'm eleven years old. I'm not planning on eloping to Europe or something. At least not till I'm in say, oh highschool or something?"

"You're what?!" Olga screeched. Helga covered her ears with her hands.

"I'm kidding, Olga! It's just a joke! Sheesh. You need to come down to reality a bit more often. And maybe stop drinking so much coffee."

"Oh, Helga you're such a silly!" said Olga. "But really, Helga! I worry for you, baby sister! And I adore birthday parties so much!" said Olga batting her eyes and looking adorable like a puppy pleading for scraps. Helga lifted her eyes up to the sky and let out a heavy sigh.

"Oh, all right! The invitation does say that I can bring one guest along."

"Oh goodie!" said Olga grinning. "Now be a good girl and put your plate in the sink when you're done."

"Yes, Olga," Helga said her whiny, sarcastic, mocking voice. But before she trotted out of kitchen she paused to drop her cup, plate, and fork off in the kitchen sink. "Yeesh!" said Helga before stamping away, free to spend time in her room at last.

The day of the big party arrived. Kids from Arnold's class lined up outside Lorenzo's front gate. Arnold and Gerald paused in the line, three kids back from Sid. The boy with the backwards facing green ballcap pressed a button on the gate and there was a ringing like a doorbell. A burly man with shades a clipboard opened the gate and held out a hand towards Sid.

"Invitation?" said the man. He took the paper Sid handed over and read it, then scratched a name of the list. "You may enter," said the bouncer. "Next?" Smiling proudly, Sid stuck his thumbs under his dress-shirt collar and strolled inside. The line moved up to Arnold.

"Wow, Arnold!" commented Gerald when the two boys had handed over their invitations and scooted inside. "This party is exclusive! Maybe we should have brought someone with us."

"Nah," said Arnold calmly, letting his arms lay loose at his sides as he walked. "You know Phoebe and Helga will be expecting us to hang out with them for a while."

"Speaking of those two," said Gerald lifting his shades. "Here they come!" Coming along the flower-lined garden path was Phoebe and Helga wearing summer dresses. But they weren't alone. Arnold grimaced when he saw Olga a few steps behind them. Both Olga and Helga wore white, matching floppy garden hats.

"Hey there, Arnoldo!" Helga told Arnold's shocked and horrified face. "I'm sorry about this, but Olga's here as my 'guest'," the girl explained making air quotes.

"I hope you guys don't mind," Olga said leaning over and smiling enchantingly.

Arnold did mind. A lot. Over the past few months Olga had done everything she could to keep him from interacting with Helga. Gerald and Arnold looked at each other, sharing a disgusted look. Then Gerald put his shades back on, lifted a fist to his mouth, and coughed to clear his throat.

"Ahem, yeah, yeah! That's cool!" said the boy smiling the saucy, attractive smile that Phoebe fawned over. Phoebe tucked her arm into Gerald's and Gerald clicked a pointer finger out towards Arnold. "Well, if y'all need us, I'll be spreading suntan lotion onto Phoebe by the pool." Left behind, Arnold gave a pissed off look. But there was little he could do about it.

"Well," said Olga grasping Helga around her shoulders in a brief, snug, uncomfortable squish. "Let's go say hello to your host! We don't want to be rude, now do we?"

"Nah, of course not!" said Helga being sarcastic again before she was dragged off speedily. Arnold headed off in the same direction at a slower pace. He arrived at the pool to see Helga and Olga departing from Lorenzo for a cloth changing tent that had been set up near an ornate pool, complete with waterslide as Harold had predicted. Arnold glanced across a whole fleet of pool floaty animals and water tires drifting at the pool's shallower end. Sid and Stinky were busy diving off a tall diving board at the pool's far side.

"Hello, Lorenzo," said Arnold, his arms tucked mildly behind him. "How's the party going?"

"Well, okay so far!" said Lorenzo. "Most of the guests showed up, except for Eugene who had to go to an emergency dental appointment for a busted tooth. He bit a jawbreaker or something. But everything is going alright otherwise. The caterers have got plenty of food and the musicians are setting up for a concert during luncheon." Arnold watched Lorenzo fuss over the party details with weary eyes.

"Did you get any presents so far?" asked Arnold, cutting to the topic that bothered Lorenzo most.

"Yeah. The butler collected quite a few. But I don't know. Arnold. Do you think the other kids really like me, or did they just get me a gift because I invited them to my party?"

"Well, I won't lie to you Lorenzo," said Arnold in all seriousness. "It's probably both. I got you a present!" said Arnold removing a small package wrapped in decorative paper from his coat. He handed it to Lorenzo with a smile. "I don't know whether you'll like it or not, but I have one of those. It's one of my favorite things so I thought maybe you'd like it, too."

"Thanks Arnold," said Lorenzo twisting the small paper package in his hands without opening it. "This means a lot. I'll open it with my other gifts."

"Sure," said Arnold still smiling. His smile fell when he saw Helga march angrily out of the pool's changing tent.

"What the heck is this Olga?!" said Helga gesturing down at the unattractive black bathing suit she was wearing. "This isn't my Nancy Spumoni Signature Lightning Sports Swimsuit! What did you do with it?" Helga gave her sister a death glare. Olga laughed nervously.

"What are you talking about, sweetie? You asked me to pack your bathing suit for you and I did."

"Unbelievable!" said Helga rolling her eyes. "Well, this thing is atrocious like a black-eye on Wally the Alligator after a night out clubbing. Definitely an embarrassment. But hey, I'm going swimming anyway," said Helga picking up a clean towel from a stack and heading towards the pool. She flopped down onto one of the deckchairs.

"Oh, yeah!" said Olga. "I remember that. Well, I'm going to get changed next," said Olga. "So you wait right there for me, alright?" Helga watched her sister walk back to the changing tent with dull, bored eyes. Arnold moved in next to her as soon as Olga was out of sight.

"Hello, Helga," said Arnold still wearing his coat and dress shoes. "How's it going?"

"Terrible!" Helga complained loudly. "Olga is driving me nuts!"

"So why'd you bring her?" Helga lowered her shades.

"Are you.. pouting Arnoldo?" said Helga with a sly smile.

"Nah, of course not!" said the boy trying to cover up his mistake. But Helga smiled even broader, then leaned her head back against her arms to lounge.

"Anything you say, Arnoldo! But if you don't get changed, you'll miss out on the fun."

"Yeah," said Arnold as calmly as he could as Helga reveled in the sunshine before him. Soon, Olga came out of the changing tent to find Arnold standing almost over Helga, admiring her with a sideways glance. She grasped hold of Arnold's arm immediately and forced him three steps away.

"Oh, come here, little friend of Helga's!" Olga chirped merrily. "You've just got to see the ice sculpture and the little decorations they've put up for the buffet table! The job they've done, it's absolutely fantastic! See?" said Olga pointing. Arnold humored Olga by staring ahead.

"Great," he said without nearly the same enthusiasm as she. "I'll just go get a couple of glasses of punch." Arnold carefully poured a few spoonfuls out, then walked back towards Helga. As Arnold stretched out his wrist to offer Helga his second cup, Olga snatched the thing instead. Olga downed the drink in one big gulp.

"Why thanks!" said Olga resting her fingertips against her chest as she looked at Arnold sideways. "I was getting oh, so parched! Now, What are we waiting for, sweetie!" said Olga clasping hold of Helga's hand and tugging her younger sister to her feet. "Let's go swimming!" Left by the poolside, Arnold narrowed his eyes at Olga as she swam to the far side of Lorenzo's pool with Helga. Olga was being obnoxiously interfering again. But what could he do about it?

 **Next time! More Harold and Patty, Olga drives everyone crazy, and Lorenzo opens his presents at last! Yeah! Will Patty wear her swimsuit? Will Arnold find a way to spend some of the party with Helga? Will Gerald and Phoebe just stop flirting openly with each other all over Lorenzo's party? Yuck. Find out in chapter four!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, before you read this keep in mind that this one takes place just before "Ancestors". At this point, I focused on ending the Olga Pataki Arc in a meaningful way. I felt the need to use an extra boost of drama to explain how Olga comes around to accept Arnold's liking Helga. In the next story, Olga leaves, but it isn't until my version of the Jungle Movie that Arnold and Helga officially get together although they are pretty darn close in "The Last Blow" and "Summer of Horror". Please see my profile for chronological order. Thanks! -Inudaughter**

Still waiting outside the gate to Lorenzo's mansion, Patty Smith was extremely nervous. She had brought a white clutch bag with her as a consolation to her guilty conscience. Hidden inside the bag was her swimsuit, but Patty doubted she had courage enough to wear it at the party she had come to attend, especially after she had fibbed to Harold about not having one. With a calm maturity only Patty brought out in him, Harold Berman handed over his invitation to stand proudly, arm tucked within Patty's, for the bouncer to let them through the gate.

"Okay. You can go in!" the man watching the gate to Lorenzo's mansion decided at last. Carefully, Harold and Patty stepped through the gate to find the little garden path Arnold, Helga, Gerald, and Phoebe had met up on earlier.

"Hm, where's the pool?" said Harold looking at all the shrubbery that surrounded them. "All I see are dumb plants!"

"I think the pool is a little further in, Harold," Patty said with benevolent patience. Together they walked until the garden path fell away to perfectly manicured lawn, and beyond that a pool- glittering, glistening in the sun like a piece of the mediterranean.

"Woah. Wow!" said Harold dumbstruck by the sight. Lorenzo's pool was huge. There was a diving board, a waterslide, pool floaties, and kids like Sid and Stinky swimming. Curly was snorkeling around the pool with a fake shark fin attached to his back. "Awesome!" Harold repeated himself before running forward.

Soon Harold had changed and was swimming by himself. Patty sat by the pool edges watching him. A deep frown furrowed her face.

"Ah, it's too bad you can't come, too, Patty!" said Harold swimming closer.

"Yeah," was Patty's response. She was very quiet. She watched Phoebe and Gerald taking turns giving each other ferry rides on one of the pool rings. Then Phoebe flipped off the pool ring and like a minnow, was off in a flash. Gerald followed after her.

Arnold, however, had only just changed into his swimsuit himself. He kept Helga and Olga in the corner of his eye. Helga kept Arnold in her field of vision, too. She cast Arnold an admiring gaze. But they could not get close. Olga dragged Helga away down the length of the pool, trying to keep Helga's company to herself. Out of patience, Helga took things into her own hands. Brows furrowed, she swam over to Arnold with quick strokes and tread the water next to him.

"Hey, Arnold!" said Helga, her soggy mop of hair flopping over one eye. "Wanna race?" Then, before either Helga or Arnold could catch her, Helga was off again, this time diving a mere foot below the surface of the water to come up and set the tips of her fingers firmly into the water on either side, dragging herself forward by curling her arms. Helga had cheated in their race. She had started her swim before Arnold, yet Arnold caught up to Helga to the other side of the pool mere seconds behind.

"Wow, you're a pretty good swimmer!" Helga remarked mildly with a grin. She rung a bit off of the excess moisture out of her hair even if it was pointless.

"Thanks," said Arnold with a smile.

"Helga!" said Olga standing by the edge of the pool and wagging a finger towards Helga and Arnold. "No splashing the other boys and girls!" Helga lifted her eyebrows to the heavens.

"Oh, give it a rest, Olga!" said Helga before swimming off again. "I'm fine!" This time Helga found Phoebe sitting at the top of the waterslide.

"Ohayo!" Phoebe greeted Helga cheerfully.

"Are you gonna sit up there all day or are ya gonna come down?" said Helga.

"There's plenty of room up here!" Phoebe invited. Helga clambered up the ladder and gave Phoebe a mean push before sliding down the waterslide herself.

Left behind, Olga Pataki dried herself off with a towel. As she stood amongst the deckchairs, she could not help but overhear Sid talking to Stinky who were taking a break from swimming.

"Ya know, it's not all that surprising that Arnold'd be spending the whole dang party with two girls," exclaimed Sid. "Remember that time he showed up at the baseball game with a cheering section? Sheesh. But from what I hear, he's had his eye on a whole bunch of ladies."

"Gawsh," said Stinky. "I thought he was only sweet on Lila."

"Nah," said Sid. "Believe me, he's all crushy-crushy. He took a sixth grader out when he was only in the fourth grade," said Sid fiddling with his sunglasses. "But most importantly, he's being all crushy-crushy now. I mean, just look at him!"

"Yeah? Well that's sure sad," said Stinky. "What an awful affliction to bear! I hope everything works out for him," Stinky ended kindly before quietly resting on the deck chair again. "Please pass the suntan lotion!" he yelped.

Still toweling herself off nearby, Olga Pataki had heard everything Stinky and Sid had said about Arnold. Troubled, she made her way inside a set of French double doors on Lorenzo's mansion in search of a bathroom. Once she was inside, Olga Pataki opened up her compact mirror. The girl in her twenties looked down into the silvery mirror to gaze into the eyes of her own reflection. Like many girls are apt to do, she began to speak to her own reflection as she admired it, falling into the same trap mankind has been guilty of since Adonis.

"Oh my!" Olga Pataki asked the reflection of herself in the both the compact and the bathroom mirror, patting the nape of her hair flat. "What to do! That little blonde-haired boy is much too close to my baby sister! But if what those boys were saying about him is true, then Arnold falls into crushes easily. Hm. Of course!" said Olga snapping her fingers in delight and cradling her makeup compact fondly. She snapped it shut, then giggled with charming yet fiendish delight. "All I need to do to make Helga hate him forever is to make her jealous! Then baby sister will never want anything to do with him ever again! Oh, Olga!" said Olga Pataki speaking to herself and fluttering her eyes rapidly. "It's brilliant!"

"Who are you talking to, Olga?" said Helga knocking on the door to the lady's room a mere second later. When Olga opened it, Helga folded one half of her monobrow up in askance.

"It's nothing, sweetie!" Olgie fibbed, departing. Still puzzling over Olga, Helga slowly swung the bathroom door shut and locked it, leaving Olga to her own devices. Olga was acting weird, no doubt. But Helga shook off her sense of foreboding for now.

Arnold was standing beside Gerald and the guys, drinking punch and chatting, when Olga Pataki arrived at the pool alone. He was astonished when Helga's elder sister sent him a cheery wave and rested the feather tips of her fingers on the top of his shoulder. The action sent shivers down his spine but not necessarily in a good way.

"Oh, Arnold!" said Olga mischievously. "Helga went that way! She said she had something to show you."

"Um, which way?" said Arnold not nearly warily enough.

"Oh, down the garden path aways! I hope it's not too much trouble for you to see what she wants."

"Well, I guess I can," said Arnold setting down his drink.

"Oh, goodie!" said Olga. "You are just the nicest boy! I can tell why Helga is friends with you! By the way, there's a smudge on your cheek," said Olga taking out a handkerchief and wiping Arnold's cheek. "There's it's all gone now!"

"Yeah?" asked Arnold failing to see that now his cheek had a smudge of mud-tinted red on it.

"Well, I'll leave you now," said Olga rolling her eyes sideways as she grinned slyly. "Helga's just ahead." Unwary, Arnold walked forward a few steps more. The garden path rounded into a circular glade with a bench, statue, and a water fountain like the Trevi Water fountain in Rome. It was large enough to be a swimming pool in itself.

"Wow, that certainly is impressive," said Arnold tucking a fist under his chin as he studied the fountain. "No wonder Helga wanted me to see it." But Arnold's thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Arnold?" asked Lila. "How ever are you doing? This party is ever so delightful, don't you think?"

"Yeah, it is," said Arnold.

"Say, Arnold?" asked Lila. She pointed a finger up in the direction of his face. "You've got a little something on your face."

"What, what?" sputtered Arnold. "Is it food?"

"No," said Lila modestly. "Actually, it looks like lipstick."

"Arnold!" Helga yelled from across the clearing. After her sudden appearance, she gave Arnold and Lila an angry scowl. "What the heck are you doing?!"

"Hey, I wasn't doing anything!" Arnold defended. Helga rolled her eyes.

"Oh, like denying it makes you look believable. Save it Arnold! Let me see your cheek." Helga startled Arnold by wiping a bit of the lipstick off his cheek onto her finger. Then Helga methodically rubbed it away on the edge of her towel.

"Helga!" Arnold sputtered. "I promise…"

"Oh, don't worry, Hair-Boy," said Helga calming. "Lila's a pearly pink. But I recognize this particular shade of lipstick. And believe you-me! It's not so easy to pull one over on Helga G. Pataki! Just who was it who told you to come over here, Arnold?" asked Helga folding her arms together.

"Olga," Arnold confessed. "She told me you would be waiting for me here."

"Uh-huh. News flash, Arnoldo. Don't believe everything you hear. I think Olga just one-upped her vendetta against you."

"You mean you believe me?" Arnold stared, his eyes wide with disbelief that Helga had let him off so easily from the compromising situation.

"Yeah, of course I do!" said Helga. "I'm no sucker! Plus there's that dumb, dazed look on your face right now like you were struck by a train. I can read you like a book, Arnold. I know. Now let's get back to the party."

"Sorry about all this," said Arnold sheepishly as he followed Helga back in the direction of the pool. Lila gave them both a friendly wave goodbye.

"Don't worry about it, Arnold," said Lila. "Enjoy the rest of your party!"

"Well," said Helga staring off across the surface of the pool. "I need to cool my head off. I'm going for a swim." Helga splashed nosily away. Arnold went back to Gerald and Sid and Stinky. The three were discussing skateboards now, but they interrupted their conversation's flow to welcome back Arnold.

"What was all that about?" asked Gerald. Arnold clutched his drink cup tensely.

"Ah, nothing. It's nothing for you to worry about, Gerald!" Arnold said wishing to keep his recent embarrassment from becoming even more public. As Arnold stood there, he heard the footsteps of a grown woman once again. He whirled his bushy head around rapidly to spot Olga's approach. Olga had put her summer dress and hat back on, as well as her usual makeup. Arnold's eyes roved to the particular shade of makeup Olga wore, making note of it. He frowned deeply.

"So, little friend," asked Olga with a false kindness. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

"No, actually, I didn't," said Arnold narrowing his eyes at her. "And right now, I'd rather if you didn't talk to me."

"And why is that?" asked Olga still feigning to be innocent.

"Actually, it's because I sort of hate you," said Arnold, the pissed off expression returning to his face. He tipped his face slightly forward like a bull debating whether or not to chase someone with his horns.

"You hate me?!" said Olga. Even if she deserved it, it was too much for the sunshine girl. Tears bolted to Olga's face immediately and she began to cry, spoiling the makeup she had just carefully put on. "Wahh-aa-aa!" Arnold's eyes grew round and wide, but unremorseful as Olga ran away.

"Woah," said Gerald squinting his eyes with a disgusted look. "One day I'm giving him advice for his first date. The next, he's breaking the hearts of older women!" Sid and Stinky and even Harold blinked at Arnold with wide eyes.

"Gerald!" said Arnold setting down his cup. "It isn't quite like that!"

"Whatever you say, man!" said Gerald taking up a fresh Yahoo soda and slurping from it.

"Well, if it's alright with you guys, I'm going back to the pool!" said Harold. "Do you want to come, Patty?" he asked the girl who still waited next to his arm. "Oh, that's right! You can't!" Harold corrected himself. He rested his index finger below his tooth sadly.

"Actually, Harold," said Patty doing some deep thinking. "I can. I'm sorry I lied to you. I did bring a swimming suit with me. I was just too embarrassed to wear it in front of other people."

"Ah, come on Patty!" said Harold full of understanding. "I won't laugh!"

"Really?" asked Patty smiling weakly.

"Sure!" said Harold. "If you get dressed now, there'll still be half an hour left for swimming! Come on!"

"Well," said Patty forcing herself to be brave. "Alright." Harold waited outside the changing tent for his friend. A few minutes later, Patty emerged from the tent wearing a white bathing suit. Rhonda had chosen well for her. The shoulders were decorated with broad straps of cloth woven together like a cable knit, making the bulk of her arms less noticeable. Patty almost looked beautiful, in her own way.

"So?" asked Patty blushing. Harold smiled.

"I think you look nice," said Harold. "Come on! Let's go swimming."

"Well, there's something else I didn't tell you," said Patty a bit ashamed. "I don't really know how to swim too well."

"Oh, that's alright!" said Harold. He pointed a thumb towards himself. "I'm a really good swimmer! Hold my hands and I'll help you practice!"

"Alright," said Patty smiling genuinely for the first time of the evening.

While Harold taught Big Patty how to swim, Phoebe and Gerald cuddled up on one of the deckchairs. Rhonda Lloyd practiced sneaking away from Curly while her official date, Rex, ignored her to play with his pet dog, Pepe the terrier. Waiters roamed around the edge of the pool giving out the last of the appetizers from their trays. Helga had come out of the water to munch on a few. She turned her head to see Olga walking towards her wiping her eyes with a handkerchief, her mascara still a little blurry.

"Hi, Olga, what's up with you," Helga answered a little coldly. Olga's lips trembled.

"Oh, Helga! I'm not feeling my best so I want to leave!"

"So leave by yourself!" said Helga grabbing a chip with fancy salsa piled on it from a tray and slurping it down. "I know my own way home."

"But I'd like for you to come with me!" Olga lamented. Helga almost growled.

"No way!" said the girl marching away from her sister as rapidly as she could, losing her in the crowd. Helga found herself not too far away from the party's host, Lorenzo.

"Oh, hi Lorenzo!" said Helga resting her weight on one hip. "How's it going?"

"Things are alright with me," said Lorenzo politely. "How about you? Are you enjoying the party?"

"Yes and no," said Helga. "Uh-oh! Here she comes again!" said Helga spotting Olga who would, no doubt, harass her about leaving the party early or something equally as bad.

"Move, move!" said Rhonda shoving past Helga in terror as she fled Curly. Helga got the same panic stricken eyes that Rhonda did, and began to jog away down the length of the pool, which was a monumental mistake. One footfall, she was jogging, the next she stepped onto a puddle of water and slipped. Slowly, she smacked down and against the concrete walk and dazed, rolled into the depths of the pool. Arnold barely heard the colossal splash. But something in his heart grew cold and worried as sound around the pool suddenly fell silent. His eyes immediately searched for Helga.

"Helga?" Arnold asked out loud as Gloria pointed a finger down into the pool's depths. Narrowing his eyes, Arnold dove into the pool immediately. His stomach clenched in fear and horror when what he found lying at the bottom of the pool was Helga. Eyes narrowed even further, Arnold wrapped Helga's arm around his shoulder and with determination, kicked off the bottom of the pool. He and Helga emerged to the topside of the pool amid yells and shouts.

"Gerald!" Arnold called out to his best friend with desperation. "Help me!" Together, the two towed Helga up the side of the pool and lay her along the concrete.

"Helga!" said Arnold lifting himself out of the pool. He gave her a little shake. "Don't leave me!" But luckily, Arnold had picked up a thing or two from his times at the beach. He tipped Helga over sideways to let the water drain from her mouth. Then he leaned over to breath forcefully into her mouth. After all, Helga had once played 'lifeguard' on him. Why couldn't he? Only now it was the real thing and Arnold was glad he had been curious enough to learn about it.

"Helga!" Olga's anxious voice carried over the distance like an exceptionally noisy bird. But Arnold was too busy to notice. He pinched Helga's nose. His second deep breath was rewarded when Helga spluttered and coughed. Then she opened her eyes and blinked. At finding Arnold's mouth pressed against her own, Helga sat up with a start and Arnold pulled back to give her space. Helga coughed, sputtering up pool water. Then, far less elegantly, she stuck a hand up over her mouth before she snatched up a sand pail and barfed in all the nasty chlorinated pool water she had swallowed by mistake and also somehow a microscopic yellow floaty duck such as one gets in vending machines for a quarter. Who knows how she had managed to swallow that. "Am I in heaven?" Helga wondered dreamily, a hand pressed against her chest. She was startled anew when Arnold tugged her into his lap. Despite Helga's having just barfed, Arnold looped his arms around her.

"Even better!" the boy said giving Helga a slight hug in one of his rare moments of unchecked elation. "You're still in Hillwood with me!"

"Huh?" Helga blinked.

"Oh my, Helga!" said Olga suddenly dropping to her knees beside her younger sibling. Real tears dripped slowly from her face. "Oh, Helga! I am so.." But whatever Olga had to say, Arnold would have none of it.

"Back off!" Arnold demanded with eerie coldness. Lifting Helga so that her arms were slung around his neck and her knees supported by his strong arms, Arnold marched off with soggy Helga. Helga blinked and cast a curious look back at her stunned and now silent sister. All of the other P.S. 118 students and their friends, too, were completely silent as Arnold walked Helga up to one of the doors to Lorenzo's house. Lorenzo opened the glass door to allow Arnold to stomp inside, still dripping with pool water, until he could find a couch. Then he lay Helga carefully down on as though she might break any second. Lorenzo draped a blanket on top of Helga to warm her in case she was cold. Helga reluctantly let Arnold's grasp around her loosen and the boy held one of her hands clasped in both of his own as he knelt beside her on the couch.

"Helga," Arnold stated tenderly. "You almost drowned."

"Huh? Well," said Helga casting her mind back to remember. "Well, it was my fault really. I was running by the pool and I know you're not supposed to do that. I've seen it on the pool rule signs a million times but I still did it anyway."

"Shh!" said Arnold pressing his fingertips against Helga's lower lip to shush her. "Don't blame yourself, Helga! Just rest!" With a sharp blink, Helga sank obediently back against the couch to recline with her hands resting comfortably across her frontside.

"Olga," Arnold barked with surprising harshness for one so young. "Can I talk to you for a moment?" Olga had followed him at a distance. The boy opened up the door to an adjacent room and stood beside the door expectantly. Olga walked through the door Arnold had opened, then watched, somberly as the boy snapped the door behind the two of them so that Helga could not hear them. Then, slowly, he turned around to address Helga's older sister.

"Oh my, Arnold!" cooed Olga. "It's hard to believe what just happened! You're such a nice little boy!"

"Nice? Nice?!" said Arnold, his eyes narrowing. "What I'm feeling right now is anything but nice!" said Arnold emphasizing the word sinisterly. "If Helga had drowned today, I don't think even I could have forgiven you. Ever! Tell me Olga, do you ever stop to think of anyone but yourself? These past few months you've done everything you can to try to cause trouble for Helga and me! You're too caught up in yourself and what you want and I've really got to ask, do you love your sister half as much as you say you do? Because from what I've seen, I care about your sister more than you do."

Complete and utter silence blanketed the room. Both Arnold and Olga stared long and hard at one another, one in the spirit of rage and the other as pale and long-faced as if she were a child told for the first time that the tooth fairy was not real.

"I... I...You're right Arnold," said Olga saying Arnold's real name properly for the first time in ages. "You're absolutely correct. After what happened here today, well.. I won't stand between the two of you. I don't deserve to!" There was the sound of a doorknob rattling and Helga appeared as she swung open the door. She flickered her eyes between Arnold and Olga.

"What's going on?" asked Helga the blanket wrapped around her shoulders like a cape. "You two aren't fighting are you?" Arnold bit his lip, silent. But Olga surprised him by smiling and stepped forward towards Helga, then walking out the door past her.

"No, we're not fighting, silly!" said Olga. "I'll leave the two of you alone now! Toodles, Helga! And Arnold! Please continue to take good care of my sister!" Olga curtsied, then faded out of the room. Helga folded up one eyebrow in bewilderment as the sister who had trailed her here let her alone with a now awkward-looking Arnold.

"Are you sure you two weren't fighting?" asked Helga, one hand on her hip as she regarded Arnold with a great deal of suspicion.

"Nah!" said Arnold lifting up the hand Helga had lain at her hip. He gave Helga's right hand a soft little squeeze and continued to hold it. "We were coming to an agreement, I guess!" Arnold smiled a soft, illusive, secretive smile that was all his own. It left Helga wondering.

"Don't be too hard on her, Arnold!" said Helga, guessing. Helga's odd, football-headed companion gave her a searching look.

"Whatever happened to 'I hate her' and 'me and Olga will never get along'?" The boy quoted. In response, Helga lifted the hand Arnold was not holding and let it rest on her chest above her heart. Lowering her eyelids, she thought for a good long while before opening them again.

"I don't know, Arnoldo! I don't really understand it but something has changed between us these last few months. It's weird! I feel something like I've never felt before. Something big and blocky! Almost heavy but not. I can't explain it."

"Oh?" said Arnold with a small smile. "You mean love?"

"Love?" asked Helga, wrinkling her nose up with disgust. "Me love Olga? That's ridiculous! Me and Olga have never gotten along! Although, I suppose it's possible," Helga relented at last.

As mad as he was with Olga still, Arnold was happy for Helga. By the sounds of things, the two sisters had bonded despite everything. Unlike Olga, jealousy didn't keep Arnold from savoring the happy look that had settled onto Helga's face. He admired it from several angles.

"So, do you want to return to the party? Or do you want to go home now? I can walk you."

"Go home?" Helga asked, shocked. "It's still early! Plus there are snacks at the snack bar I missed! Little breadstick things with fluffy cheese stuffed down the middle! A little weird but they remind me of bagels with cream cheese," said Helga licking her chops. "Oh and they have olives on little toothpicks! I hardly ever eat olives so they're kinda interesting," Helga mused.

"Alright," Arnold relented with a smile. "But sit down and rest if you need to! You almost drowned today, Helga."

"A funny thing, that," said Helga pausing at the doorway. "I almost don't know what to think of that. Maybe like the biggest moron of the year. Like the sabertooth tigers who jumped in a tarpit to get their dinner. Really didn't work out for them. I'd feel like more of a moron except…"

"Except what, Helga?" asked Arnold intently as he watched Helga's oddly neutral face.

"Well, I guess I'm kind of glad to see your odd football-face again, Arnoldo," Helga answered shyly. Helga scratched her arm and looked away from Arnold to the faraway corners of the room. Her temporary bravery was rewarded by a brief embrace.

"Sure, Helga. Sure," said Arnold before releasing the girl from his arms after a few seconds. Dutifully, he lead her out towards the now mostly vacant pool party.

"Oh, Helga!" said Phoebe running towards Helga in her cute blue bathing suit. "Are you okay?"

"Course I am!" said Helga looking around. "Hey, where's the snack table?"

"They're clearing up," said Phoebe. "We'll be sitting down to lunch in a few minutes."

"Even better!" said Helga scrunching up her fist and knocking it softly against Phoebe's for a sport's style victory bash. Phoebe looked perplexed.

"If you really say so, Helga!" said Phoebe as she folded her arm into Helga's and escorted her best friend on her way. Arnold patiently followed along after the two girls. Inside the house was a large room with lots of long tables. Harold was pulling out a chair for Patty to sit in.

Arnold sat beside Helga, Gerald, and Phoebe while they ate lunch. For someone who had nearly drowned, Helga had quite the appetite. Maybe it was because she had barfed up everything she had eaten earlier. Almost nothing within a fork's reach did not go on Helga's plate. She chewed loudly but Arnold sipped ice water from a glass without rebuke, smiling softly as he watched Helga talk with Phoebe.

Soon enough, it was time for Lorenzo to open his birthday presents. The entire stack was large enough to be a Christmas tree. Lorenzo's presents from his family were ridiculously expensive things, like a high-powered telescope, a new laptop, and clothing from designer labels that had Rhonda fisting her hands in jealousy.

"Ooooo!" Rhonda complained with frustration. "I just want to at least touch them!"

"It just looks like an ordinary vest to me," said Sid. "Not like my Beadle boots!" said Sid looking down at his trademark white shoes.

"I'll take you shopping, Rhonda my dear!" said Curly never giving up. Rhonda frowned at him and shoved him away with a loud, "ugh!" At length, Lorenzo got to the presents from Harold and Arnold.

"A collection of classical music cds," said Lorenzo opening silver package from Harold. Then he opened the gift from Arnold. Lorenzo stared down at the object in his hand.

"A harmonica. Thank you, Arnold. I wonder. Do you play the harmonica or something?"

"I do," Arnold stated warmly. "If you want sometime, I can show you a few things. It can be relaxing to play sometimes."

"Thanks, Arnold," said Lorenzo. "I'll look forward to that! After the party, we can reserve an afternoon on my schedule." There was still one birthday present left that Lorenzo had not touched. He opened it carefully. Inside was an empty picture frame.

"What is this?" asked Lorenzo squinting.

"Oh, that's mine!" said Sid hurrying forward with his camera. "I thought I could take a picture with my camera and you can put it in the frame later, you know, as a momento!"

"Well, we do have the professional photographers," said Lorenzo. "But this might be more special!"

"Of course it is!" said Sid. "Get in there, Arnold!" said Sid shooing his friend along with his hand. "And Stinky and Harold! Get REAL close!"

"Like this?" said Harold innocently as the boys of Lorenzo's class squeezed in real close to the boy.

"Yeah! But we should get another one with the girls, too!"

"I'm going, I'm going!" said Helga tossing a chicken bone over her shoulder. She took her place with the rest of the crowd while Sid finished his photo shoot.

"Say, Lorenzo?" asked Arnold as Sid finished fiddling with his camera. "Can I get prints of the last shot, too?"

"Oh, I see!" said Lorenzo. "That girl, Helga. She must really mean a lot to you."

"A lot of people here mean a lot to me. But Helga, too. Yes."

"Thank you for coming to my birthday party, Arnold," said Lorenzo shaking Arnold's hand. "A few things went wrong, but it turned out okay."

"Yeah," said Arnold. "It did. Somehow." Arnold turned his head to see Harold Berman sitting in the remains of Lorenzo's birthday cake, chewing down the last few bites and covered head to toe in the frosting.

"Alright!" said Harold ceasing his chewing to lift his hands over his head in triumph. "Best birthday, ever!" Arnold and Lorenzo gave each other a look that silently spoke, "how did Harold manage to eat a cake as large as himself?"

A few minutes more, and the gathering broke up to go home. Arnold returned home to his boarding house, but as he lay on his bed, an uneasy feeling filled him. He had left something undone, and so, driven by forces he did not understand, he went down to his basement to look for the crate of fireworks Grandma Pookie had bought for their upcoming Fourth of July/Thanksgiving celebration. Shifting through the boxes, Arnold found what he wanted- a little paper box of sparklers. Carrying it with him, Arnold opened the front door out onto the street, ignoring the flood of animals in the door for the night. Then, the evening spreading against the sky, Arnold flicked on a flashlight as he strolled down the sidewalk until he came to the Pataki household. Taking a deep breath, Arnold rang the doorbell once.

"Dingdong!" the bell rang before Olga opened it. Olga blinked, then raised her voice.

"Helga!" said Olga surprising Arnold. "Your friend is here to see you! I'll just leave the porchlight on for you!" said Olga before moving back into the house with a small smile. Helga glanced backwards over her shoulder at her retreating sister and blinked. Olga's sudden behavior had her puzzled. But, ignoring it, she walked down the first few steps of her stoop towards Arnold.

"What's the matter, Football-Head?" said Helga folding her arms in front of her. "What has you out at this hour?"

"Well, I have something for you!" said Arnold hiding the package of sparklers behind his back. "Close your eyes!" Helga blinked in surprise at his words. She grinned deliriously. Then, closing her eyes and clasping her hands together over her heart, she puckered her lips for a kiss.

"Oh, Arnold!" said Helga waiting for a kiss to fall. "My hero!" But with a wry grin, Arnold merely tucked a single sparkler into Helga's hand.

"Now you can open them," said Arnold. Helga looked down at the foreign object in her hand.

"Oh!" she said with a touch of frustration. "What's this?"

"Well, considering all that happened today, I thought we should celebrate today," said Arnold. "You know, your being alright!" Helga grimaced. But she smiled as Arnold lifted up a box of matches to show her.

"Well, light me up, pal!" said Helga sitting down on the stoop to enjoy the sparkler. Arnold took another sparkler from the package and lit them both with a match. They both sat on the stoop together, watching the sparklers glitter like gold. Arnold snuck one hand around Helga's shoulder to hold her close.

"You're a real romantic," said Helga. "You know that?"

"Maybe," said Arnold with a soft smile. Maybe he wasn't giving Helga a kiss on the lips today, but he did drop a soft kiss against her hair as they watched two sparklers fizzle against the dusk. The end.


End file.
